MLB Network squeezing entire ’30 Clubs, 30 Camps’ series into 8 days

MLB Network airs a spring training series every year that visits all 30 teams. This year, the network is cramming the entire thing into eight days. Four broadcast teams will hit 30 camps between Monday and March 2, making it the most compressed version of the series MLB Network has done since launching in 2009.

The reason for the squeeze is the World Baseball Classic. With WBC play ramping up in March, MLB Network had a narrow window to get its annual 30 Clubs, 30 Camps series done before the calendar shifts to international play. The network usually spreads this out over a few weeks. This year, there’s no time.

“When looking at the Spring Training schedule, we only saw a week window for our annual series after games began and the WBC starts ramping up,” Ben Friedfeld, MLB Network’s VP of content logistics and field production, said to Awful Announcing in a statement. “It has led us to an action-packed week with our most aggressive plan yet. Four talent teams, 30 camps over an 8-day window.”

The 30 Clubs, 30 Camps series kicks off Monday, Feb. 23, with visits to the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays, and Kansas City Royals. Four broadcast teams will fan out across Florida and Arizona — Lauren Shehadi and Chris Young, Robert Flores and Cliff Floyd, Siera Santos and Jake Peavy, and Greg Amsinger and Yonder Alonso — with each visiting multiple camps per day as they race to cover all 30 organizations.

🚨⚾️🚨

LIVE @MLB action returns tomorrow on @MLBNetwork.

A robust “30 Clubs, 30 Camps” Spring Training series begins this Monday, February 23rd.https://t.co/gGrsFVvOKC pic.twitter.com/uyzMuvpDjn

— MLB Network PR (@MLBNetworkPR) February 19, 2026

Each day during the series, MLB Network will air new back-to-back editions of MLB Tonight at 6 and 7 p.m. ET featuring interviews, predictions, and analysis from the club facilities. The series runs through Monday, March 2, and ends with a visit to Team USA ahead of the World Baseball Classic.

The value of spring training coverage — which MLB Network has aired every March since its 2009 launch — isn’t just showing up and interviewing players. It’s about building relationships and establishing credibility that carries through the entire season. Shehadi, who co-hosts MLB Central during the regular season, spends most of her time in the studio once games start. Spring training is when she gets face time with players and coaches across the league.

“It’s nice to put eyes on the teams so during the season we can speak to what we’ve seen,” Shehadi told AA. “When you invest in the players, they respect your opinion because they know you care about covering them in a proper way.”

“During the season I don’t get to travel across the league as much, so Spring Training is a chance to visit with the players, manager, and coaches and get a sense of the clubs,” Flores, who co-hosts MLB Central with Shehadi, added. “It’s great preparation for the season.”

Every team arrives in February with optimism.  And that optimism is genuine, even when it seems misplaced. Players believe it. Coaches believe it. Front offices believe it. Nobody shows up to spring training thinking they’re going to finish last. Santos, who hosts Intentional Talk, has learned to embrace that part of the coverage rather than be cynical about it.

“The best part of our Spring Training coverage is seeing the optimism from every team and each player,” Santos said. “You walk away from a camp and say, ‘Yep! They could go all the way.'”

Peavy joined MLB Network in 2022 after pitching 14 seasons in the majors. Spring training has become one of his favorite parts of the job because it gives him access that doesn’t exist during the regular season. Players aren’t guarded in February. They’re not worried about protecting their at-bats or explaining why they’re in a slump. Coaches aren’t managing the media cycle around a five-game losing streak. The atmosphere is loose. Conversations happen naturally. That’s when Peavy can see if a team has what it takes.

“One of my favorite parts of the job is getting on site in a relaxed environment with the players,” Peavy said. “Each team has big optimism and is excited for the opportunity ahead, which means good moods. Being on site, you can really feel who has ‘special’ ingredients brewing and a real shot at a title.”

The 30 Clubs, 30 Camps series is just part of MLB Network’s spring training coverage. The network will air games throughout February and March before shifting to wall-to-wall World Baseball Classic coverage once the tournament begins. By then, MLB Network’s talent will have already visited every team in baseball — all in eight days.